Meats

Appears in

Published 2021

Chicken, rabbit, red meat, and fish should be bathed in a bowl of cold water with a fistful of flour, a spoonful of coarse salt, and the juice of one lemon (or substitute 2 tablespoons of white vinegar for the lemon juice). Then massage the chicken, fish, or meat with the spent lemon rind. Remove all veins, blood, or scales, inside and out, then rinse the meat, chicken, or fish and leave it in a strainer—preferably in the refrigerator—to drain off the bloody juices for 10 to 15 minutes. Meat that is to be browned should be fully dried after draining.
If using a tough cut of beef or goat meat, soak it in white vinegar for 20 minutes, then rinse it well, pat it dry, and proceed with the recipe.
If you are cooking any meat in liquid, as in the preparation of a broth, first add just a cup or two of water and bring to a boil. This usually produces a scummy foam called zafara, which is considered utterly repulsive. Spoon this off continuously as it forms. When no scum remains, proceed to add the remaining quantity of water, onion, and spices. This results in a clean-tasting broth free of any gamey flavors.
A chicken or rabbit boiled for broth may—after boiling—be rubbed with a halved tomato or lemon and then briefly placed in a broiler to brown. The meat will be tender and perfumed from the broth spices, but attractively crisp and brown for serving.

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